Broad Street project site to reopen Friday after nearly 3 months
Workers are completing sidewalks and landscaping Thursday in preparation for reopening Route 209 at the unit block of West Broad Street in Tamaqua, which has been closed to traffic since June 6. DONALD R. SERFASS/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES NEWS
The east and west sections of Tamaqua will no longer be divided at the main street.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the Broad Street route, a U.S. highway, will reopen Friday. The project of rebuilding the subterranean Wabash Creek Bridge and the U.S. highway running over it is nearing completion. The overhaul began in April.
Route 209/West Broad Street has been closed and detoured since June 6.
According to the announcement by PennDOT late Wednesday, the $2.1 million project involved replacing the old stone arch, which historians say dates back to the 1850s, and installing a precast reinforced concrete arch culvert.
In addition, new bridge roadway approaches were completed, new line painting, ADA-compliant curb ramps installed and landscaping completed to return the area to its original appearance. The landscaping, Victorian lighting, brick pavers and burial of electrical cables were part of an extensive 2006 downtown Victorian streetscape overhaul.
PennDOT says the vehicle detour routes, which have seen heavy traffic, will be repaved at the end of the project.
Motorists should expect sporadic daytime lane restrictions on Route 209/West Broad Street between Route 309 and Hunter Street until project completion. Motorists should anticipate delays and use caution driving through the area, according to PennDOT.
J.D. Eckman of Atglen was the general contractor.
The old bridge was 20 feet long and 30 feet wide, according to PennDOT, and was posted for a 28-ton limit. The new structure is nearly 19 feet long and more than 51 feet wide and has no weight restrictions.
The area sees an average of 5,626 vehicles each day, according to PennDOT.
